We Can't Dance

Genesis

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (November 12, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1991
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002ISU
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #612,483 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The final Genesis studio album to feature Phil Collins finds the increasingly pop-oriented singer/drummer more firmly in the driver's seat than on We Can't Dance's predecessor, Invisible Touch. However, We Can't Dance has little of its predecessor's exuberance and freshness. Inspiration and ideas are spread too thinly over the 70-minute length of the album, resulting in flabby arrangements and lyrics. There are moments throughout when the carefully crafted choruses and smoothly integrated sound of later Genesis prove winning. "Hold on My Heart," for one, proves that Collins can still produce real emotion. Still, it's not surprising that this was this bunch's last recording together. --James Swift

Product Description
Digitally remastered edition of this classic 1991 album from one of Rock's most successful bands featuring new stereo mixes of all tracks. From their Progressive Rock beginnings to their commercial superstardom, Genesis created some of the most challenging, creative and rewarding albums of their generation. This edition allows the listener to experience the album as never before! 12 tracks including 'No Son Of Mine', 'I Can't Dance' and 'Hold On My Heart'. EMI. 2009. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please stop comparing..., April 8, 2006

By	Jeffrey G. Stevenson "Drummer J" (F.W.B.,FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: We Can't Dance (Audio CD)

Peter Gabriel Genesis and Phil Collins Genesis...for the most part, they are two different animals...both GREAT STUFF! And honestly, both "leaders" also had some "duds". I believe the reason this great album...yes I said GREAT, has only a total 3.5 star rating is that the older die-hard Gabriel-era fans are disgruntled that their favorite band refused to remain in the past. We, as fans, have seen this played-out over and over again...our favorite bands try to branch out and evolve---sometimes it works e.g. Genesis, Santana,etc...sometimes it doesn't, e.g. Metallica, ZZ-Top, etc... So, with that said, I'm giving 'We Can't Dance' 5 stars to try and offset the undeserved current rating. Likewise, I wouldn't give 5 stars to an album that did not deserve it. This is a very good Genesis album that rates 5 in my mind, and not for the "hits"...though they are worthy. The real treasure with this album lies with the unknown songs. Driving the Last Spike, Fading Lights, Dreaming While You Sleep, Living Forever, etc...some of which contain some very cool "proggy" passages. Many other reviewers have rated the individual songs quite well, so I will simply say this album means a great deal to me and provokes many emotions within me (probably due to a "tricky" relationship I was going through when I first heard this CD). This is one of my favorite releases of the past 20 years, so beware of every review you read...you may miss out on something that might have become a treasured part of your collection/Life! Jeff

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great variety, February 15, 2003

By	Brad (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Can't Dance (Audio CD)

I love the wide variety of Genesis sounds on this album. From their long, progressive, epic rock tracks to fun pop/rockers to serious, heartfelt ballads, it is all here...and it is all good.

The lead track and single "No Son Of Mine" in and of itself emphasizes the diversity to come on this album. It has both a haunting classic rock and a melodic pop sound...an interesting and very good track. The fun and hilarity of such tracks as "Jesus He Knows Me" and "I Can't Dance" is greatly offset by the track in between--the 10-minute epic storytelling "Driving The Last Spike". "Never A Time" and "Hold On My Heart" are both nice ballads, while "Dreaming While You Sleep" contains haunting thoughts and images from the point of view of a hit-and-run driver. "Tell Me Why" is one of those socially concious songs like we have heard Phil Collins sing before, and it is a pretty powerful track. "Since I Lost You" is very soft, sad, and heartfelt with its message content. "Fading Lights", long track that it is, seems like a fitting way to end the album, as Genesis under Phil Collins would fade away after this album.

People love to compare the older progressive rock Genesis to the newer pop-based Genesis. Whatever your favorite version of the band is, there should be at least something that you like on this diverse album. And for true long-time fans of the band, this should be a real treat, since it encompasses such a wide range of Genesis music from various eras. Some may say that the album doesn't flow with its various styles, but to me the variety from one track to the next is what makes it so interesting and enjoyable to listen to.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Is My Duty As A Genesis Fan To Defend This Album!, January 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: We Can't Dance (Audio CD)

I ofen hear bad things about this record, why? Let's just get one thing out of the way, SO WHAT GENESIS WENT MORE COMMERCIAL! It is still Genesis, the voice, the instrumental power, the epic songs, the melodies, the arrangments, but just because there not as far-out as the earlier stuff does not make it any worse, in fact newer Genesis had some very dark moments (see: 'Mama', a song about a teenage boy who wants to have sex with a prostitute he thinks is his mother, 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight', a song about a herion addict despartly trying to find his dealer as he craves his drugs and 'Dodo/Lurker', the most surreal, sick and crazy song of the 1978-1994 period.

All the above are all dark, brooding, disturbing and powerful songs, there all long ('Mama' 6:37, 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight' 8:47 and 'Dodo/Lurker' 7:33) all have instrumental sections and are all pretty weird (just listen to how sick Collins sounds on 'Mama', espesscialy the line 'Can't you feel my heart'). So onto 'We Can't Dance', the last album with Phil Collins as vocalist/drummer. From 1980 on all the Genesis/Collins albums had a thematic sound, for exmample 'Duke' gave the image of snowy trees and leaves falling in the autum, 'Genesis' gives the image of a dark, steamy, industrial city and 'Invisible Touch' a dystopian future. 'We Can't Dance' is an album of lost love, innocence, time and people. Their is a strong sense of grief throught the album.

From the opening 'No Son Of Mine' to the broken-hearted 'Since I Lost You' you get the feeling of grief and tradgedy. The veriation on the album spans from melodic, powerful rockers ('No Son Of Mine', 'Way Of The World) to gentle, regretfilled ballads ('Never A Time', 'Hold On My Heart, 'Since I Lost You') to the darker, epic, more like Genesis of old ('Driving The Last Spike', 'Dreaming While You Sleep', Fading Lights'. In 'Dreaming While You Sleep' (one of the best things the band has done) a man tries to come to terms with his guilt after he runs over a women on the rainy roads, lines like: 'In and out of darkness, In and out of sleep, Trying to keep my hands upon the wheel, Never saw the corner in the driving rain, I never saw her step into the street...'

In short 'We Can't Dance' is, with the truely classic 'Abacab' the best Genesis album from the 1978-1994 period, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford again prove they are the best trio in music history...